The invention relates to a motor gear unit for adjustment devices in motor vehicles and is particularly suitable for use in a vehicle door having a wall for separating a wet space and dry space.
A base plate is known from EP A 579 535 on which is mounted from the dry space side a handle, an inner door lining as well as a switch for a window lifter unit which is fixed on the wet space side. The window lifter unit is mounted together with the motor-gear unit on the wet space side of the base plate which is screwed from the dry space side in front of the opening onto the inner door panel of the door body so that the vehicle door is divided into a wet space on the outside and a dry space on the inside.
A further device for use for the door of a motor vehicle is known from DE 195 09 282 A1. It has a support plate on which is mounted a number of functional units such as window lifter with drive and control unit, lock, speaker and cable tree. An extensively equipped precheckable module is thereby produced which allows efficient production of vehicle doors in high quality. The support plate has in its marginal area a circumferential seal and closes a comparatively large cut-out section in the inner door plate in a watertight manner so that the vehicle door is divided into an outer wet space and inner dry space.
In order to be able to manufacture the electrical components in the cost-effective dry space design, the electrical components are mounted on the dry space side of the support plate. This also applies for a drive and control module which consists of an electric motor, gearbox, electronic control unit and switch block. The output shaft of the drive unit thereby engages through a small opening in the support plate which is sealed by a seal between the gearbox housing and the support plate on the dry space side. The pushed-through end of the output shaft produces a connection with the mechanism of a window lifter e.g., through the engagement in a cable drum of a Bowden tube window lifter.
The object of the invention is to develop a motor/gear unit for adjustment devices in motor vehicles which is suitable as a complete precheckable and prefabricated unit for installation on a wall which separates a wet space from a dry space wherein the electrical and, where applicable, electronic components are to be used in a dry space design; likewise, a simple maintenance and repair of the motor gear unit is made possible.
According to the present invention, this is achieved through a base plate which is mounted from the wet space side on the wall wherein at least the elements for the electrical contact with the electric motor are accessible from the dry space side by means of the opening of the wall in the assembled state.
According to a first variation, the base plate is mounted with the motor/gear unit from the wet space side on the wall between the wet and dry space wherein the opening in the wall is closed watertight.
According to a second variation, the opening extends into the edge of the wall so-that a cut-out section is formed with a substantially U-shaped contour. The edge of this cut-out section can be brought into engagement with a guide groove which is worked into the narrow circumferential end face of the base plate. To this end the guide groove of the base plate is supplied to the edge of the substantially U-shaped cut-out section and the base plate is moved parallel to the wall until the opening is closed.
When using the first variation where an opening (with closed edge) in a wall, e.g., in an inner door panel or in a support plate, is closed by a base plate from the wet space side, the opening must be at least large enough so that the elements for electrical contact such as, e.g., plug connections are accessible from the dry space side. It is obvious that the housing walls of the motor/gear unit which form a boundary face between the wet space and dry space likewise have to be watertight. If a shift of the motor/gear unit towards the dry space is to be desired then this unit can be pushed through if the opening is sufficiently large. As a rule, the requirements are for a substantially flat and thus simple design of the base plate which in turn allows a simple secure seal.
The formation of the sealing area between the base plate and the wall between the wet and dry space can take place through separate sealing elements which are either prefitted on the base plate or the wall or the seal is integrated into the base plate in a plastics injection molding tool in a two-phase process. This process is known by the term 2-K technology.
However, it is also possible to use as sealing material, a sufficiently elastic sealing foil which substantially covers the wall and forms the actual damp barrier. Preferably, the sealing foil is mounted on the dry space side of the wall and turned over through the opening onto the wet space side where a fitting seat with the base plate is provided so that the seal is produced on the wet space side.
Screws, rivets or clips can serve as fixing elements between the base plate and the wall. It should however be pointed out that the fixing points lie inside the contour of the seal in order to avoid additional measures for sealing the through openings of the fixing element.